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Real Madrid In dramatic fashion, Barcelona stayed within a point of Barcelona when Kylian Mbappe scored in the 10th minute of stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano.
Vinicius Junior’s stunning opener was canceled out by Jorge de Frutos early in the second half and the home side looked likely to drop the points even after the visitors were reduced to 10 men.
But with 100 minutes on the clock, Nobel Mendy’s foul on Brahim Diaz gave the hosts a chance to secure victory, with Mbappe stepping up and scoring.
The victory was Real’s sixth league win in a row and they are just one point behind Barca.
The sour note in the win was an injury to Jude Bellingham, who left the field in tears raising concerns over his fitness for the rest of the season and England’s World Cup campaign.
Vinicius opened the scoring for Real with his first goal since October. The Brazilian ran clear down the left before turning and turning inside before firing a superb strike into the top corner.
Despite going in at half-time, they were greeted with cheers at the Bernabeu and fans were frustrated by the lack of chances against a side above the relegation zone.
And that frustration only increased early in the second half when the visitors equalised, De Frutos completing a stunning team move to stun Real as they were made to pay for defensive complacency.
Thibaut Courtois put the hosts in the game just after the hour mark when Andrei Ratiu broke through from a one-on-one, with the Real stopper making a great save with his feet.
Kylian Mbappe then spurned a glorious chance to put Real in front when he rounded the goalkeeper from just wide but his shot came off the crossbar.
A chaotic finish saw Rayo reduced to 10 men for a stamp by Pep Cess before Eduardo Kamavinga hit the post as Real pressed for a winner.
But just when it looked as if they were heading for an excess of points, the referee pointed to the spot in the eighth minute of stoppage time when Mendy got his clearance completely wrong and brought down Diaz.
Sealing the victory with 100 minutes on the clock, Mbappe stepped up to ensure he stayed alive in the title race.
